HISTORICAL: European Historical RomanceSETTING: England 1813SERIES: Book One in the Liar's Club seriesHEROINE: 25 year old woman

Agatha Cunnington, a headstrong beauty from the country, has come to London in search of her missing brother James. The only clue she has is a cryptic letter signed The Griffin. Agatha decides to disguise herself as a respectable married woman so that she can go about the city unnoticed. But for her charade to work she needs a suitable "husband," preferably someone tall, elegant, and rakish-someone like Simon Montague Rain.

Simon Montague Rain, also known as The Magician, is a member of The Liar's Club, a renegade group of rogues and thieves in the service of the Crown. When someone begins murdering members of the undercover cabal one by one, Simon is given the mission to bring in The Griffin, one of his comrades who is suspected of betraying his brothers. Simon goes undercover and infiltrates the home of "Mrs." Agatha Applequist who he believes is the Griffin's mistress. Before Simon knows what's happened, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to Agatha's soft, feminine charms-and he is tempted beyond reason to break the first rule of The Liar's Club: never fall in love.

3 Reviews:

And oh, Agatha, big, beautiful, buxom Agatha, she is exuberant, charming, can tell the wildest tales if she has to, and best of all, she's no innocent dingbat despite being a virgin, she's no martyr, and she is not stupid. Her plans make sense, she has a strategy, and she actively aids Simon rather than acts as a liability. When the novelty of a heroine who isn't dingbat personified fades, there is enough sparking fizzy chemistry and sexual tension between Agatha and Simon to keep me riveted. These two talk. They work with each other. They laugh with each other and they even feel for the same things in life. (read more)

At last, at last, two truly intelligent leads and a storyline that is ablaze with originality. Full of wit, charm, humor, and a spectacular romance, The Pretender gets my vote as the best historical romance of the year to date. How did I miss Celeste Bradley’s debut? This is only her second novel, but it’s penned like a seasoned veteran. (read more)

The book's main strength were Agatha and Simon, two strong characters who were very definitely not the same old thing. Agatha, especially, was wonderful. She really was smart (very different from those TSTL heroines the authors keep insisting are intelligent): her plans were sound, she carried them out decisively, and she did what needed to be done. I can't say how glad I was to see her lie without blushing and stammering and her eyes giving her away, lol! I also felt a lot of respect for the way she handled her relationship with Simon, mostly. She took responsibility for her own actions and went after what she wanted and even with something which I didn't approve of, she was very clear in her knowledge that it was wrong. (read more)